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Wall Breaker (iOS) Review

We liked?

The game is free

Tons of content and modes

Nice looking game with good music

Not so much?

Occasional slowdown on iPod Touch

Occasional game freezing (iPod Touch)

Final Fiendish Findings?

Wall Breaker is a modern update to the classic arcade game Breakout. For a free game, it offers a ton of content, and three different modes of play. It has the potential to be a really enjoyable game, but unfortunately, at the time of press, it has some stability issues that really need to be sorted out.

If you’ve been hungry for a Breakout/Arkanoid style game for the iOS, Wall Breaker will hopefully satisfy that hunger.

There are several different game modes. The default mode, which you access by pressing “play” is a series of 20 levels, broken up into 8 different world for a total of 160 levels. When you complete a level you’ll earn a star rating. Your rating seems to depend on how many balls you lost during the level. If you don’t lose any you’ll three-star it.

Outside of the standard game mode, Wall Breaker also offers Attack and Puzzle modes. Attack mode is a timed version of the game where you’re given 60 seconds and a handful of lives to get through as many levels as possible. Puzzle mode is also a timed mode, but instead of giving you a countdown, the game simply tracks how long it takes you to win the level. The brick layouts are also different and require more precision to win.

Much like it’s predecessors, especially Arkanoid, Wall Breaker features bricks that perform special actions or drop power-ups. Some bricks are unbreakable, while others will serve as a portal, transporting your ball to another part of the level.

Coins can also be collected from breaking through sections of the wall, and can be spent in the store’s shop to provide cosmetic and functional upgrades to your “bar,” as well as different styles for the balls.

I reviewed the game on both a 3rd-Generation iPad (the one that was released earlier this year and “replaced” by the new New iPad) and a 4th-Generation iPod Touch. I preferred playing Wall Breaker on the iPod because of the smaller screen. Sliding the bar around, to keep the balls in play, required smaller swipes, and felt more comfortable in my hand than the iPad.

As nice-looking and fun as Wall Breaker is, it wasn’t without some significant problems.

While the app is universal, which means that it’s compatible with the iPhone/iPod Touch and the iPad, my 4th-Gen iPod Touch stuttered occasionally during gameplay. I’m not entirely surprised, as that model iPod Touch is 2 years old. It’s my assumption that the new iPhone 5 and 5th-Gen iPod Touch will run this just fine, as they’re powered by much faster processors. My 3rd-Gen iPad didn’t have any slowdown.

The biggest issue was that Wall Breaker froze and crashed on me multiple times during my reviews. This happened on both review devices, the 4th-Gen iPod Touch and the 3rd-Gen iPad. During play on the iPod Touch, I would get game freezes during mode selections on the menu screen as well as during gameplay. Music would continue to play, and the ad-banner on the top of the screen would continue to scroll through to different ads, but everything else was unresponsive. At first this seemed to only happen on my iPod Touch, but while playing on the iPad, I had the game crash and send me back to the device’s home screen when completing a level.

I’m hoping that these are bugs that can be squashed through and update. As of this update, both of my devices were updated with the latest iOS software update version 6.0.1, and the Wall Breaker app itself was up-to-date.

Wall Breaker is free to play, but does contain advertisement banners across the top of the screen. They never distracted from my gameplay, but I do wish there was an option to buy an ad-free version.

There are in-app purchases to acquire coins. These coins can be spent in Wall Breaker’s shop to change the style of your bar and the balls. Currently in-app purchasing price is $0.99 for 5,000 coins, $1.99 for 30,000, and $2.99 for 90,000. If you’re going to spend extra money on this game, the $2.99 option will definitely be your best bet.

Bottom line, it’s hard to complain too much about a free game that offers a fun experience with a ton of content. I definitely recommend Wall Breaker, just understand that there are some the stability issues that still need to be addressed.

Coming up soon….

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